Tierra del Fuego

The days here are looong! Last night, the sun set after 10pm, and this morning the sun rose very early (5am). I quickly got ready, re-packed my bags and put the GAP Adventures tags on them. I grabbed a quick bite before joining a small group to go to the Tierra del Fuego National Park (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tierra_del_Fuego_National_Park).

We learned about the history of the island (it became a province in 1991) and learned that the beaver (which is a big deal here, all over the place) is not native – what started as 25 beavers around 1950 for fur coats has led to 150,000 beavers and a real problem. We saw birds and trees and ate a fungi called “Indian Bread” that grows on the trees. Gaston, our guide, was very smart and told us about the flora, fauna, and history of the region. We walked around and took pictures.

Indian Bread:


Pics from the park:






One of the things we learned related to Lago Roca (Roca Lake). Get this: the lake was called something previously (the Yamana word for basket, since the lake is shaped like a basket). President Roca killed off the indigenous people (one man remains today, but the culture is entirely wiped out) but did good things for the economy, so the lake bore his name. Some compassionate and wise folks two years ago realized it was twisted to name a lake after a murderer, so it has been renamed to the Yamana word though all the signs still call it Lago Roca. (And most Argentines still don't know the name, sadly.)